Top 9 Best Network Testing Software for Windows Users
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Kickdrive Zero
Configure and test CAN and CANopen bus networks using this tiny and portable app which includes approachable options and settings.
Kickdrive Zero is a feather-light and portable software application that you can use to configure and test CAN and CANopen bus networks, which features intuitive options for setting up CANopen networks and fullmo/ebmpapst CANopen drives.
Portability advantages
Since there is no setup pack involved, you can save the executable file in any part of the disk and just click it to launch Kickdrive Zero. Otherwise, you can move it to a pen drive to be able to directly run it on any PC that has a CAN interface. Unlike most installers, it doesn't modify Windows registry settings.
Clean and intuitive interface
Made from a comfortable-looking window with a neatly structured layout, Kickdrive Zero invites you to start a new project by either setting up a CANopen network or fullmo/ebmpapst CANopen drive.
Configure settings for CAN and CANopen bus networks
It's necessary to connect the CAN interface to your PC via USB, start it, connect it to the CANopen nodes and specify a communication port, use the network manager to perform a baud rate and node scan, record trace files, resort to a search function with filters, copy and paste data, as well as open CAN Trace text documents.
For the network manager messages you can indicate the scanned and configurable node IDs to run a scan and build the project. Plus, you can keep track of the node network configuration, as well as read, write, store or reset the node parameters. The project can be saved to file and later resumed.
Evaluation and conclusion
The software utility worked well in our tests, without hanging, crashing or displaying error messages. It left a small footprint on system resources consumption, running on low CPU and RAM.
All in all, Kickdrive Zero comes packed with approachable options and configuration parameters to help experienced users seamlessly set up and test CAN and CANopen bus networks. It's free for non-commercial use.
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PingPlotter Free
Trace the route between you and a target address, in order to diagnose latency and packet loss issues, with this simple and intuitive tool.
Note: By default, the application runs the professional edition of PingPlotter after installation. However, you can switch to the standard edition at startup and restart the tool to use it.
PingPlotter Free is a small Windows application whose purpose is to help you trace the route between you and a user-defined address (be it a website, VoIP provider, or online game server). The tool’s aim is to continuously gather and record information about any packet loss.
User interface
The clean feature lineup makes it easier for you to discover the program’s functions. The tool lets you insert the address that you want to trace in a dedicated panel, start or stop the tracing process, and view additional information about the recorded values with aid of a built-in graph that displays data in real-time.
Main features
PingPlotter Freeware gives you the possibility to tweak some dedicated parameters before triggering the process, such as the number of times to sample, delay time between samples (in seconds), as well as the number of samples that is included in the graph.
The utility continuously processes the user-defined address and displays the results in real-time in the main window. You can view data about hops, percentage of lost packets, minimum, maximum, average, and current time, IP address, DNS, and others.
What’s more, you are allowed to export data to PNG, GIF, or BMP file format, copy the information (text or image) to the clipboard, so you can easily paste it into other third-party applications, color the graph background yellow or red if values exceed a user-defined value, and ignore the first hop.
Performance
Tests revealed that PingPlotter Freeware carries out a task very quickly and without errors. It doesn’t eat up a lot of CPU and memory, so the overall performance of the computer is not hampered.
Bottom line
To sum things up, PingPlotter Freeware comes packed with a handy suite of tools for helping you trace a certain address, and is suitable for all types of users, regardless of their experience level.
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Download Hubs
PingPlotter Free is part of these download collections: Traceroute Clients
EasyNetMonitor SE
Ping one or more IP addresses to check the availability of their hosts and get notified if any of the supervised servers goes down.
EasyNetMonitor SE provides an efficient means of monitoring remote hosts in a network and web servers, periodically checking their availability and getting notifications when a connection goes down. This is particularly useful to network administrators, who can promptly respond to problems that might occur.
EasyNetMonitor SE vs. Pro edition
EasyNetMonitor SE is a more advanced edition of EasyNetMonitor Pro, also running as a Windows service, also allowing the user to run the application in emulator mode (in this case, the service does not actually perform actions, but allows the admin to configure actions and notifications).
Just like its younger brother, it comes with email notification and task execution capabilities, enabling an administrator to take immediate action in case a host is unresponsive.
Get connection failure notifications
EasyNetMonitor SE runs in the system tray, enabling you to configure it via the context menu. Adding a new host to monitor requires you to provide its IP address, name or URL and going through a set of options to configure the ping timeout and the notification settings.
The application can be instructed to display a popup message and use sounds to alert you when a host is not reachable. Alternatively, it can send notifications via e-mail if a no response from the target host is received a number of times in a row.
As mentioned above, EasyNetMonitor SE can also be configured to execute a program if the ping request is refused. You can also define additional command line arguments to assign to a file.
Monitor multiple hosts via the system tray
To sum it up, EasyNetMonitor SE is a network monitoring tool worth having around if you want to keep an eye on multiple hosts and make sure that they are up and running. Connection failures result in instant notifications to allow network administrators to promptly come up with solutions.
EasyNetMonitor SE is mostly designed for more experienced administrators, while home users can download EasyNetMonitor Pro or the free edition, each of them offering less configuration and customization options.
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TamoSoft Throughput Test
A comprehensive and easy to use server and client application that can test the performance of your network connection in real time.
TamoSoft Throughput Test is a useful tool for the users who need to assess the performance of their wireless connection. You can use it to run a series of tests in order to monitor the status of the network connection.
Throughput can be expressed as the success rate for delivering data packets over a network connection. It plays an important role in the performance of any network and allows you to assess the difference between the theoretical and practical bandwidth available to the users.
If you need to evaluate the performance of your network you can use the Throughput Test program which is able to test the connection by permanently sending data packets and calculating the success rate.
The application is based on a server-client architecture and requires you to install it on multiple computers from the network. Once installed you only need to start the components and specify the IP address and port used for the connection.
After the first packets are delivered, the client component displays details about the upload and download speed as well as the packet loss rate. The details can be copied to the clipboard and saved in a text document if you need to review them later.
In the main window, the user has the option to view charts for the throughput value, loss rate and round trip time. The graphs can be exported to a bitmap image in order to use it in documents and emails.
Although the app is intuitive and requires minimal configuration, it includes an extensive documentation for the users who are not testing network performance on a daily basis. Thus, you can learn more about the result interpretation and the available test types.
The TamoSoft Throughput Test is a viable solution for any user who needs to check the performance of a wireless network.
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EasyNetMonitor
Monitor specific addresses in your network by pinging them at regular intervals, receiving a notification whenever they fail to respond.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
EasyNetMonitor is a simple-to-use utility that verifies if a remote computer is accessible in your network. It targets all types of users.
After a brief installation procedure, EasyNetMonitor creates an icon in the system tray area. By opening the context menu, you can add as many computer addresses as you want and create a separate tray icon for each one.
From the Options panel you can configure several settings, such as establishing the time interval for the IP checkup, as well as enabling the ping function when the tray menu is opening.
Furthermore, EasyNetMonitor can be scheduled to run at Windows startup automatically and to log details to an external file. It is also possible to disable EasyNetMonitor from the context menu without actually exiting the application.
The network monitoring tool requires a low quantity of CPU and system memory, so it doesn't burden the computer's overall performance. It has a good response time to key strokes and mouse commands, and it's very stable. The app didn't cause us any difficulties throughout our evaluation, like hanging, crashing or showing error notifications. Although it is not very resourceful, EasyNetMonitor offers a simple and effective solution to test if a computer is reachable via LAN.
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IPerf2
A multi-threaded network performance tool that can assess the maximum achievable bandwidth on TCP and UDP via a command-line window.
Designed for network administrators and security experts, IPerf2 is a console-based software utility that works as a performance measurement tool with support for both the TCP and the UDP protocols. The application provides ways to measure network bandwidth and speed with concern to both latency and throughput, relying on a multithreaded engine that ensures prompt responses and quick processing of all the requests.
Console-based approach
As mentioned before, there is no standard GUI available, but that should not pose any issues to the application’s target users, who usually have a background experience with the Windows command line.
There are three command sets available in IPerf2: client/server commands, server-specific commands and client-specific commands. You can explore them all and read all about their functions using the “--help” command. Keep in mind that you must establish both a server to receive traffic and a client to send data for any test to take place, either on different hosts or on the same one.
Get bandwidth reports for TCP and UDP traffic
IPerf2 can provide detailed reports concerning the TCP or UDP transfers and traffic-related information. You get to control the port number or listen or connect to, configure the time interval between periodic reports related to bandwidth, and choose the measurement format or the buffer size.
There are also TCP-specific commands that allow you to set the maximum segment size, choose the socket IP TOS field or toggle no delay options by disabling Nagle’s algorithm in TCP data transfers.
Client and server-specific commands
When running in server mode, IPerf2 allows you to choose the port to listen and connect to and configure a series of parameters such as the timeout for a permit key, the TCP receive window clamp size, the time interval between new listening sessions, and so on. IPerf2 can enable latency histograms with TCP or UDP transfers. By default, IPerf2 runs using a multithreaded configuration, but you can activate a single-threaded mode to run your tests.
The client is the state that generates traffic by sending data to the server. IPerf2 allows unidirectional and bidirectional traffic, as well as full-duplex and multiple data streams. Additionally, multicast and SSM joins are supported.
Evaluate host-to-host performance
IPerf2 is a powerful tool in the right hands. It can measure TCP and UDP performance, both related to latency and throughput, based on the simulation of data traffic via network sockets. There are plenty of commands for users to experiment with and lots of client-server examples available to see how everything works.
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PingPlotter Standard
You can trace graphical and statistical representations of your ping in order to identify the source of slow web performances on your PC.
Note: By default, the application runs the professional edition of PingPlotter after installation. However, you can switch to the standard edition at startup and restart the tool to use it.
PingPlotter Standard is a software application designed to keep an eye on your network connections and identify the possible problems that may occur.
You do not need experience to monitor the network
No special computer skills are required to work with this tool, thanks to its clean layout and overall simplicity. Basically, all you have to in order to monitor the network process is to type in an address in the dedicated dialog. It is possible to add multiple URLs to the list for closer scrutiny.
Once you have added the addresses to the list and enabled the tracing mode, the application runs in the background and collects the important data for you. In this way, you can focus solely on your work and check the troubleshooting issues later.
The application is able to display graphics with all the necessary information about the route your data takes to a server. The timeline graph feature can help you get important details about the network connections over a long period of time.
Provides you with a time graph that you can customize
Exporting options are also included, and you may save the generated statistics to a plain text file. You may also opt for exporting the graph images to the following file formats: PNG, GIF and BMP.
Moreover, it is possible to add comments on your time graph and set alerts for the specified problems. You can adjust the trace monitoring interval by typing in the value in the dedicated box.
More experienced users may fiddle with some advanced settings, as they can change the Internet connection and email settings, enable the auto saving mode for storing images and data, and customize the display of the graph.
A useful utility for monitoring network connections
To sum things up, PingPlotter Standard proves to be a stable application that can help you monitor the network connections easily and efficiently.
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Download Hubs
PingPlotter Standard is part of these download collections: Traceroute Clients
GNS3
A flexible and highly adaptable network topology simulator application that you can rely on to set up networks without needing any expensive hardware.
GNS3 is an open-source instrument meant to help users perform advanced network testing scenarios and actual implementations by setting up virtual or real servers and other clients, conducting research, and addressing liabilities and flaws that might come up.
A stylish interface, and the main technical traits
This application enables, via a friendly interface, access to advanced functionality. Above all, GNS3's GUI is intuitive and accessible even to non-experienced users.
On the left-side panel, there are the device browsing options and the advanced device configuration methods. These options are 'Browse Routers,' 'Browse Switches,' 'Browse End Devices,' 'Browse Security Devices,' 'Browse All Devices,' and 'Add a Link.' The last option allows you to connect, with manual or a wizard-assisted implementation, a new appliance, as well as opt for a completely new installation or to import a given setup.
Moreover, the options are suitable for the addition and configuration of ATM Switches, Cloud accounts, Ethernet Hubs or Switches, Frame Relay switches, NAT (Network Address Translation), or VPCS (Amazon Virtual Private Cloud).
Increased accessibility with shortcuts and visual representations
Furthermore, the interface's top bar allows easy access to the most important commands. You can use these to open an existing project, create one from scratch, create quick snapshots with custom names, display/hide interface labels, start/pause/stop the nodes' activity, as well as insert pictures, notes, draw shapes, lock/unlock items, or take full-page screenshots.
Probably one of the most useful traits of GNS3 is the visual representation of your networking structures and implementations. This means that at the centre of the screen, in an adjustable panel, you can draw lines between hosts, visualize the appliances' connections, and therefore, get a general overview of the networking structures you are creating/testing.
Conclusion
To summarize, with GNS3, you can get access to a lightweight, modern-looking application that is suitable for both real and virtual networking structures, as well as the management of local or remote hosts, all from within the console's stylish interface.
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EasyNetMonitor Pro
A network monitoring application that can check the availability of one or more hosts or IP addresses and notify you if a server goes down.
EasyNetMonitor Pro is a simple program that can be used to quickly check if computers are online in the local network. It can also be efficiently employed to test if Internet websites are experiencing downtime.
Can be used to determine whether network computers are connected
The tool is potentially useful for anyone connected to a network or the Internet. Since websites tend to go offline from time to time, this resource can be quite handy in quickly pinging URL addresses. Network administrators can also use it to swiftly determine if group computers are not connected.
EasyNetMonitor Pro is very unobtrusive, will run from the system tray area and features very few interface objects; the GUI is geared towards efficiency and ease of use, as once properly configured, the context menu is really all a user needs in order to start network checks!
An advanced version of Ping
At its most basic level, one can compare the application to the Ping command. As with any such task, one must have a valid IP for the target. Once users insert the address, the resource can start network checks. However, unlike the command prompt task, EasyNetMonitor Pro allows a few more advanced options.
One of the most important is that the resource can remember past tasks. Thus, setting up recurrent network sweeps is possible. What's more, users can employ sounds and balloon notifications. A powerful feature is the “Emal notification” option, which can have its timers configured (i.e. to prevent email spams).
Can run custom programs, conditioned by the Ping results
Other advanced functions include starting applications after a user-defined number of positive or negative results.
To conclude, EasyNetMonitor Pro is a good tool for network administrators and anyone else who needs a resource to check whether websites are online or not.
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